Consumers of flammable liquids, such as gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, aviation gas and heating oil are often located at remote sites that are inconvenient or inaccessible by common ground-based transport. For example, industrial mining sites and forward operating bases in military applications are often not served by improved roads. Similarly, remote villages in many wilderness or arctic areas are not accessible by land or water routes during certain seasons. Finally, remote wilderness camps and lodges are often situated far from any land or water routes and within protected wilderness areas that do not allow ground access.
One way to transport bulk flammable liquids to inaccessible, remote sites is to utilize small and medium-sized aircraft. Such aircraft can be equipped with tundra tires and rugged landing gear for landing and takeoff from unimproved landing strips and beaches. Likewise, the aircraft can be equipped with floats for operation upon lakes and rivers, or skis for operation upon ice and snow covered surfaces. However, special consideration must be given to the air transportation of bulk flammable liquids. Traditional methods of shipping fuel within aircraft cargo bays subjects the container(s) to possible damage during loading and unloading as well as in flight, with an attendant risk of explosion or fire. Another drawback of many fuel containers is that they are not conveniently sized or shaped to efficiently fit the geometries of aircraft cargo bays. Furthermore, loading and unloading containers of flammable liquids is laborious and potentially hazardous. Improper stowing of the fuel containers in an aircraft cargo bay can also result in a weight-and-balance configuration that is outside the safe operating envelope of the aircraft. Fuel containers that are flown inside conventional aircraft are vented into the cargo bays or not vented at all. Aircraft cargo bays are not an intrinsically safe environment and therefore pose a hazard when fuel containers vent or accidentally leak while transported within. Non-vented fuel containers are subjected to expanding and contracting forces as an aircraft descends and ascends, respectively. Lastly, containers of flammable liquids can become hazardous if they are improperly secured in the aircraft and are dislodged during aircraft operation. There is a need for a way to safely transport bulk flammable liquids in aircraft.